Apparatus for the distribution of pump-fed concrete to a plurality of casting areas

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an apparatus for the distribution of concrete fed by a pump to a plurality of casting areas in building sites, tunnels, wells, and the like, consisting of a single structure ( 1 ) supporting a variable-geometry pipe ( 2 ) ending with a junction element ( 5 ) and part of which is a basic frame ( 6 ) housing a plurality of pipe fittings ( 7 ), each of which is capable of sealingly engaging with said junction element ( 5 ), said variable-geometry pipe ( 2 ) being fed by a concrete pump and each of said pipe fittings ( 7 ) being connected to one of said casting areas by a pipe.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for the distribution of concrete, which is fed by a pump, to a plurality of casting areas in building sites, tunnels, wells and the like.

It is known that in a building site organised according to modern standards, concrete is cast in succession in a plurality of casting areas, using one or more concrete pumps, once the necessary reinforcements have been set up in said areas. This requires the use of equipment to distribute the concrete from each of the pumps to the individual casting areas.

According to the prior art, to reach the casting areas, either mobile trolley systems with a variously-articulated concrete delivery pipe are usually used, or systems employing fixed pipes which may be connected to one or more distribution structures, also fixed, which structures are usually arranged in succession or connected to each other, fed directly and/or indirectly by the concrete pump.

Both systems are not very functional, being bulky (in particular in the case of mobile trolley systems), excessively scattered around the building site (in particular in the case of fixed-pipe systems), and complicated to handle and to service, requiring costly interventions by skilled technicians, and involving high costs.

The need is therefore felt in the field to improve concrete distribution technology, which concrete on the building site is supplied by a pump to the various casting areas thereof, and to eliminate the disadvantages of known equipment, in particular with the aim of concentrating in a single area of the building site control over concrete distribution to the various casting areas and to reduce the interventions by attendant personnel.

This need is fully met by the apparatus according to the invention, which comprises a single structure supporting a variable-geometry pipe ending with a junction element and which comprises a pipe-fitting basic frame housing a plurality of pipe fittings, each of which is sealingly connectable with said junction element, said variable-geometry pipe being fed by a concrete pump and each of said pipe fittings being connected to one of said casting areas through a different pipe.

Said variable-geometry pipe may consist of an articulated rigid pipe or alternatively of a flexible pipe. In the former case, a curvilinear pipe supported by the structure is preferably used; said pipe is formed by at least two sections and rotates freely about a first vertical axis, while said sections are mutually articulated about a second vertical axis. This pipe is preferably supported by a fifth wheel with a rotating jib-like body.

The apparatus according to the invention can be arranged stationary on a building site or mounted onto mobile means on the same building site.

Preferably, said pipe fittings of the basic frame of the apparatus according to the invention are L-shaped pipes with at least one end collar for connection to the junction element of the variable-geometry pipe, which junction element is suitably a quick-fit one. Furthermore, a second collar at the opposite end of each pipe fitting can be provided, for connection to the pipe connecting to a casting area.

The invention will now be described in further detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a currently preferred embodiment thereof and two possible applications. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of an apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an apparatus like the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 mounted on a mobile carriage for tunnel concrete-lining; and

FIG. 4 shows an apparatus like the one in FIGS. 1 and 2 used in a stationary mode for concrete lining of wells, for example piezometric wells.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, an apparatus according to the invention for the distribution of concrete fed by a pump to a plurality of casting areas in building sites, tunnels, wells and the like comprises a single structure 1 which supports, rotating about a first vertical axis X, a pipe 2 formed in two curvilinear rigid sections 3 and 4, mutually articulated about a second vertical axis Y and ending with a junction element 5.

According to the invention, the same structure 1 further comprises a basic frame 6 which houses a plurality of pipe fittings 7, each of which is apt to be sealingly connected through its end 7 a with said junction element 5, said rotating pipe 2 being fed, in correspondence of a lower curvilinear extensions 8 thereof, by a concrete pump (not shown), while each of said pipe fittings 7 is apt to be connected, through its end 7B, opposite to the end 7A, with one of said casting areas, through a separate pipe (not shown) which is fixed to the end 7B and which extends in the direction of the arrows of FIG. 2. The ends 7A and 7B are collar-shaped, with which collar both the junction element 5 and the similar junction elements of the separate pipes (not shown) feeding the concrete to the casting areas are easily and effectively connected.

In the illustrated apparatus embodiment, the basic frame 6 is shaped as a rectangular parallelepiped, from which the pipe fittings 7 project in correspondence of the long sides and of the upper base; a different shape of the frame 6 and a different arrangement therein of the pipe fittings 7 (which could, for example, be circumferentially arranged) may, however, be used, without departing from the scope of the invention. Similarly, the location of the pipe 2 on the frame 6 is not important, which pipe could for example rise from a middle portion of the same frame 6 rather than from one side thereof.

The pipe 2 is very effectively supported by a fifth wheel having a jib-like body 9 of the structure 1. The pipe 2 rotates about said first vertical axis X with a straight section 10 thereof which is located between the curvilinear concrete feeding extension 8 and the first curvilinear portion 3A of the first U-shaped section 3 of the pipe 2. The jib-like body 9 at its free end supports the rotating joint 11 between the first (3) and the second (4) portion of said pipe 2, in correspondence of said second vertical axis Y.

A further rotating joint 12, similar to the joint 11, is provided between the straight section 10 and the first curvilinear portion 3A of the U-shaped section 3 of the pipe 2, while the second curvilinear section 4 of the same pipe 2 is divided into two segments 13 and 14 connected to each other by a third joint 15 similar to the previous ones having, however, a horizontal axis Z. The segment 13 consists of an L-shaped curvilinear pipe, whereas the segment 14 is a substantially S-shaped curvilinear pipe, at the free end of which is located the junction element 5.

During use, concrete is fed to the extension 8 of the rotating pipe 2 by a concrete pump (not shown), to be pumped through the apparatus 1 to one predetermined casting area. For that purpose, at any one time the operator connects the junction element 5 to the one among the pipe fittings 7 connected to the chosen casting area. In order to do that, the operator needs to suitably position the pipe 2 rotating section 3 thereof about the axis X of the joint 12 and section 4 about the axis Y of the joint 11, subsequently adapting as best as possible the joint 5 (preferably a quick-fit one, as already mentioned) to one of the ends 7A of the pipe fittings 7 with small oscillations about the axis Z of the joint 15. Rotation of the pipe 2 is eased by the jib-like body 9 which rotates on the fifth wheel together with section 3 and effectively supports, through joint 11 between the sections 3 and 4, the pipe 2, which may take up significantly projecting positions.

FIG. 2 shows with bold lines a first position of the pipe 2, in its connection to the first one of the pipe fittings 7, and with phantom lines a second position of the pipe 2, in its connection to the last one of the pipe fittings 7 of the apparatus. This drawing clearly shows the versatility, ease and convenience with which the multiple-portion and multiple-section pipe 2 can be operated to obtain—under the control of a single operator at a single location of the building site—the feeding of concrete to a plurality of casting areas on the same building site, which casting areas may be located even at a fair distance from one another.

The apparatus according to the invention will normally be arranged stationary on the building site, in a location suitable to supply the casting areas, from which location it can be moved whenever different casting areas need to be supplied.

However, other more specific applications can be provided, FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrating two interesting examples thereof.

In the application shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus 1 is mounted on a casting carriage 16 for tunnels, which may be moved on rails or wheels and carrying, in a manner known per se, formworks 17, between which formworks and the wall of the tunnel G the concrete is to be poured. The apparatus of the invention is mounted at one end of the carriage 16, which is equipped with a plurality of pipes 18 connecting the pipe fittings 7 to the different predetermined casting areas. A pipe 19 feeds the concrete from an external pump (not shown and which may also be carriage-mounted) to the extension 8 of the rotating pipe 2 of the apparatus 1. Concrete can be cast keeping the carriage in a steady position and operating very simply and directly only onto the apparatus 1, easily accessible from outside the tunnel G or from an already lined portion thereof. Advantageously, the apparatus 1 needs little space on the carriage, as is desirable in these applications. Once concrete casting is completed, the carriage 16 is moved to perform successive castings in the tunnel G.

In the case of FIG. 4, the apparatus 1 is shown housed on the bottom of a well P, for example a piezometric well, the walls of which must be lined with concrete using formworks 20. In this case, too, there are provided a pipe 21 feeding the concrete to the pipe 2 of the apparatus 1, and a plurality of pipes 22 between the pipe fittings 7 of the apparatus and the casting areas in correspondence of the formworks 20.

Other particularly interesting applications of the apparatus according to the invention may be on building sites for the manufacturing of pre-casts for repetitive buildings blocks or for the casting of viaducts through formworks having fixed casting locations.

Finally, the embodiments of the invention and its applications may be different from those described and illustrated: for example the shape of the basic frame 6 and the arrangement in relation thereto of the pipe fittings 7 and of the pipe 2 with the jib-like body 9 may vary, as already mentioned, as may do the number and size of said pipe fittings 7, of the pipe 2 and of the pipes for the casting areas. The structure 1 in its entirety might then also be arranged in locations different from those considered, for example it might be wall-mounted. These changes are all meant to be included in the scope of protection of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims. 

1) Apparatus for the distribution of concrete fed by a pump to a plurality of casting areas in building sites, tunnels, wells and the like, characterised in that it comprises a single structure (1) supporting a variable-geometry pipe (2) ending with a junction element (5) and a basic frame (6) housing a plurality of pipe fittings (7), each of which is sealingly connectable with said junction element (5), said variable-geometry pipe being fed by a concrete pump and each of said pipe fittings being connected through a different pipe to one of said casting areas. 2) Apparatus for the distribution of concrete as claimed in claim 1), wherein said variable-geometry pipe (2) is an articulated rigid pipe (3,4). 3) Apparatus for the distribution of concrete as claimed in claim 1), wherein said variable-geometry pipe (2) is a flexible pipe. 4) Apparatus as claimed in claim 2), wherein said articulated rigid pipe is a curvilinear pipe formed in at least two sections (3, 4) and freely rotating about a first vertical axis (X), said sections (3, 4) being mutually articulated about a second vertical axis (Y). 5) Apparatus as claimed in claim 4), wherein the second section (4) of said rotating pipe (2) comprises two segments (13, 14), the latter of which is apt to rotate in relation to the former about a horizontal axis (Z). 6) Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pipe fittings (7) are L-shaped pipes with at least one end collar (7A) for connection to the junction element (5) of the variable-geometry pipe (2). 7) Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said junction element (5) is of the quick-fit type. 8) Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pipe fittings (7) are L-shaped pipes with two end collars (7A, 7B) for connection to the junction element (5) of the variable-geometry pipe (2) and to a pipe connecting to a casting area, respectively. 9) Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said variable-geometry pipe (2) is supported by a fifth wheel with a jib-like body (9). 10) Apparatus as claimed in claim 9), wherein said jib-like body (9) rotates about said first vertical axis (X) and supports at its free end the rotating joint (11) between the first (3) and the second section (4) of said pipe (2) in correspondence of said second vertical axis (Y). 11) Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, arranged stationary on a building site. 12) Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, mounted onto mobile means on a building site. 13) Apparatus as claimed in claim 12), mounted onto a casting carriage (16) for tunnels. 14) Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, arranged on the bottom of a well (P). 15) Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, used in the manufacture of pre-casts for repetitive building blocks. 16) Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, used in the manufacture of viaducts through formworks having fixed casting locations. 17) Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said variable-geometry pipe (2) is supported by a fifth wheel with a jib-like body (9). 